Like all detectives in Washington, Agent Llearson liked to get away once in a while. One day, while looking at the news, he noticed that there was a carnival in town, complete with an animal show. Llearson had always had a fondness for animals, so it was all the more reason to take off the day and head on down, which is just what he did.

After purchasing a ticket, Llearson stepped through the gate and into the carnival itself. All around him there were games and people, and as he walked down the main path, his ever-observant detective ears caught little snippets of conversations of the people walking by.

"...didn't I tell you not to eat that stick?"
"... of course it's a bay, what could go wrong?"
"C'mon Johnny, take the rag and get that mess cleaned up..."
"... are you sure this is California, honey?..."
"... and then he got 3 dollars worth of gum!"

Deciding that there was nothing important going on, Llearson headed toward the animal convention to watch a couple of shows. He was just about to take a seat when, all of the sudden, he heard angry yells, and a few seconds later a man came running into the field with a llama, followed closely by a shouting man.

"Come back you thief! That is my llama! I had it tied right next to my car and you had the nerve to go and steal it boy! Oh, if only there were police here..."

The other man attempted to run out of the other side of the field, but Llearson stepped in front of him and asked, "Just what is going on here?"

Agent Llearson sighed. So much for the day off. "I'm all the help you're going to need, sir. Llearson's the name. Detective Llearson. With 2 l's.

"Llearson?" The man with the llama asked. "Well, my name is... Tony. And I did not steal that man's llama!"

"Oh yes you did!" the other man howled. "You are a no-good llama thief, that's what you are, and if you do not give me back my llama now, I will take it back by force!"

"Detective, I did not steal this llama! My family owns a black calico llama farm down in Oregon, and I decided to bring my favorite and enroll him in the contests. That's the honest truth!"

The angry man leapt forward and grabbed at the llama's tail, but all he got for his efforts were a few limp black hairs, which he promptly threw on the ground in disgust. "You let my llama go now, or I will phone a SWAT team down here in 3 seconds!"

"No way!" Tony yelled back, "This is my llama, and there's no way you're going to get it!"

Both men advanced on each other, but Agent Llearson stepped between them and said, "Now, now, gentlemen. I know which one of you fellows is lying, and if a confession is not made, I will be forced to make an arrest for attempted burglary."

Who stole the llama? And how did Agent Llearson know who did it?

Hint

Just what did the angry man get for his efforts? Take a closer look and think about it.Hide

Answer

It was the rather angry man who was lying. He said that the llama was his "prize bay llama." However, if you did a little research, you would know that bay llamas are red, with black hair on their heads and legs. And yet, when the man grabbed at the tail of the llama, he got a few black hairs. Also, if you look back in the story, you will see that someone in the carnival was talking about a "bay." This was no doubt the angry man and his partner trying to determine the type of the llama they were going to steal. Too bad they guessed wrong. Tony is the real owner. He knew the llama was a black calico all along, even if he couldn't really remember his name very well.

As it turned out, the angry man did confess. "Well," he said to Agent Llearson, "you foiled my llama-getting plans once again. But next time, you will not be so lucky!"

"Hey!" said Llearson. "You're that guy who tried to steal from the frantic farmer that one time!"

"Well spotted," the man said, "but I must be off now!" And with that, he ran around the corner of a tent and disappeared.Hide